Fergie: Arsenal's Ability Did Not Change One Bit

Sir Alex believes it was foolish from the media to write Arsenal off at the start of the season. Many hacks speculated that the Gooners could be dislodged from the cosy comforts of the top four by Manchester City's dirty money but it looks unlikely so far as they scored 10 goals in two league games.

'I couldn't understand people writing Arsenal off,' Fergie said.

'I think it was a media thing. I can't see it.

'They have respect and the one thing Arsene has done well is he's always sold a player at the right time. He knows when it's the right time for a player to leave.

'But I don't think the level of their ability has changed one bit.'

If we were the kind of people who look for some other, more sinister meaning behind every word, we could interpret it as a slight dig at Arsenal: while they certainly did not get weaker with the sale of Adebayor and Toure (I agree with Fergie about them being sold at the right time, which he also said) they did not improve either. Their level of ability, as the boss said, did not change one bit.